"O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."
These words I know to be the last line in the lyrics of the Star-Spangled Banner. Growing up as a child in our hometown of Iriga in Bicol, I would hear my lolo recite the National Anthem of the United States of America as if it were a poem and hear him sing our Philippine National Anthem, the English version.
Our grandfather was a principal of the public elementary school in our barrio before World War II, and he received his formal training as a teacher from the Thomasites, a group of some 600 U.S. schoolteachers transported in 1901 by the Army transport ship Thomas from California to the Philippines. Their crowning accomplishment was the training of the nucleus of 25,000 English-speaking Filipino teachers who staff the island schools back in the days of Governor General William Howard Taft and Assistant Military Adviser Dwight Eisenhower (2 individuals who later became US Presidents). At an impressionable age in the 1970s, I listened attentively to my lolo talk about ideals of democracy and patriotism and the heroic deeds and words of such historic greats as Dr. Jose Rizal and Thomas Jefferson; Manuel Quezon and Abraham Lincoln. It is because of this that I do have a soft heart for the special reationship that the Philippines and the United States have forged thru generations. Not only between two countries but also between two peoples.
Which brings me to the Philippine-American Friendship Day. Its origin dates back to 1955, when President Ramon Magsaysay, by virtue of Proclamation No. 212 established the observance of Philippine-American Day." Sometime during the Marcos Administration, Philippine-American Day was renamed Philippine-American Friendship Day and moved to July 4. The celebration of the Philippine-Friendship Day is meant to remind us, and Americans, of our two countries' long-standing friendship. The blessings of a friendship are priceless and need to be celebrated.
It is with excitement then that I learned yesterday (July 3) that Pinoy Runners USA (PR USA). has organized a run for July 4 called Fil-Am Independence Run 2020 (FAIR7420). I inquired from one of its leaders, Jen Evangelista, if the event is open to runners even outside the US. He replied with an affirmative answer and graciously provided me with the link on how to register for the FAIR7420.
I took the opportunity to request Jen if I could interview him about the rationale behind the FAIR7420. He took the initiative to have me get in touch with the leaders of PR USA and the umbrella group to which it belong, the Pinoy Runners Global (PRG). So what happened next was a virtual round table discussion (or in the new normal's parlance, a square screen huddle) between me and PR USA's founding fathers Jen and Maner Puyawan plus Rona Janowitz, its founding mother. Maner is one of the founding members of the PRG.
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| Leaders of PRG that I have the honor of interviewing : Rona, Jen and Maner. |
For the square screen huddle, my opening question - What is the purpose of the event? It immediately got a response from Maner who patiently expounded on the objective and PRG's plans:
"As a runner, most of us like to join running races. We use these events to stay focused on training and motivated to stay active. With what's happening because of Covd19, a lot of the races have either been cancelled or postponed. Staying active and motivated is a struggle. So, Pinoy Runners Global, in cooperation with the other barangays thought of launching our Virtual Takbo races. It started a few weeks ago with our Philippine Independence Day event, which was hosted by our local leaders in Pinoy Runners PH, where we felt the warm participation of our members and the eagerness to be out there running. There were 2,000 members who signed up for that event. With that success, a lot of members are clamoring for the next event. And so that was followed by a more advanced event called Pinoy Mamaw 24 Hour challenge where a runner needs to complete 50kms within 24 hours by running 10km five times.
Now, to allow more members to participate and in line with the US Independence Day, we asked the different Barangay leaders in the US headed by PR USA to host an event called Fil-Am Independence Run 2020. During the PH event in June 12, we learned a lot of things and we thoughts that it is not easy to run an event like that. A lot of moving pieces needs to be coordinated and prepared. We are proud to have organized a successful event like that in a short period of time and at no cost to the members.
FAIR7420 is not the end. PRG in cooperation with Pinoy Runners Leadership Forum (composed of over 30+ Barangays globally, are planning to launch the Virtual Takbo (VT) Series. Every week, a new challenge or virtual race will be held and will be hosted by different barangays. I also wanted to mention that we are now implementing a new system (FAIR7420 is the guinea pig) as you can see, where everything is being automated. We learned from the previous events and it is so hard to track down everything without a system. We have launched the new PRG Portal yesterday (July 3) where all the members are required to sign up and register to join the event. This would alleviate the issues we encountered last time. The system is in its early form and we will continue to enhance its capabilities and functionalities while making it as user friendly as we can for all the members.
By the way, I'd like to mention that the leaders (of PRG and the barangays) deserve to be recognized because they are not paid. Most of us have our own full time jobs. But because of our passion to the sport and desire to organize our fellowmen to be active, we are doing this without expecting anything in return."
Jen added a point:
"Before Philippine Independence Day event (FDR2020), we first realized Pinoy runners globally supported us on Global Running Day. Though it wasn't hosted by PRG because it was a global initiative, Pinoy Runners signed up under Team Pinoy Runners Global. Dito pa kami nagulat. Runners across the world were so happy and proud to be part and under Team PRG. Kaya sinundan namin agad ng FDR2020."
I then proceeded with a secondary question - Would it be fair to assume that one of the intents for the FAIR7420 is for Pinoy Runners joining this event to celebrate, and perhaps reflect on the special relationship that the Philippines and the US have been enjoying for generations? Not just between 2 governments but actually between 2 peoples. Maner, and then Jen replied on this question.
Maner:
"Absolutely. Filipinos who are in the US have not forgotten our roots. In fact, we (here in the US), are always proud to represent the Philippines. Even though most of us are already citizens, our heart belongs to the motherland. And I will say that in general for all Filipinos outside the Philippines."
Jen:
"Yes. At first we though of naming the event 4th of July because everybody knows this is US Independence Day which is a federal holiday. But we know 4th of July is also a very significant date in the Philippines in the past. To rekindle our history and remind younger generations of Pinoy runners what is July 4th for the Philippines."
My third question was about participation - 2,000 runners in the June 12 event, how many runners do you expect to join FAIR7420?
Maner:
"Same. Or if not, higher hopefully."
Rona:
"We have until Monday (July 6) since most of our Pinoy runners live in different time zone. You know, some of our Filipino runners, they will sign up when it is the last minute. So maybe about that number of or more."
Optimism begets more optimism. I ended that interview with a heightened feeling of enthusiasm for the running of the FAIR7420. One would see it with the way I was preparing for the 7km run the night before July 4. I had my running gear all neatly arranged for inspection in my bed. Each gear had a connection, however trivial or distant, with the special relationship of the US and the Philippines being celebrated by the July 4 running event: a Philippine flag-inspired running buff (which serves as a face mask); a running shirt I bought from Potomac River Running Store, a few blocks away from the White House; and a classic Hoka Bondi B gifted to me by my fave cuz Virlita who is a US citizen. Needless to say, I slept with dreams of a good run for 4th of July.
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| Running gear ready and waiting for the excited 4th of July runner |
By the dawn's early light, I was up and raring to do my 7kms in the name of two country's friendship. I was not alone. Far from it. As the earth journeyed on its 24-hour rotation, each time zone is blessed with the glorious light from the sun that signaled the start of day. You can bet that runners will be busy as a bee going about their sole food of running. You can further bet that there are Pinoy runners among these "busy bees" enjoying their FAIR7420. Photos to prove the point.
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| The Bicolano Penguin going for 7kms inside a village park in the urban jungle that is Metro Manila |
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| After running 20kms for the FAIR7420, Aileen of Pinoy Guam Runners proudly waving the Star and Stripes. |
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| Midnight run (21kms) for Nancy in the scenic and safe Choa Chu kang Park Connector Netwok in Singapore. |
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| In Milan, Rei of Pilipino Ultra Runners Italy (Team PURI) looking beastly cool after running more than 20kms. |
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| In front of Paleis op de Dam, Minnie and twin sister Mimosa proudly show the Pinoy Runners Global shirt. Minnie is the captain of Barangay Netherlands and one of the co-founders of PRG |
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| A big flag on the world's busiest motor vehicle bridge. PRG's moderator Rona with the George Washington Bridge that connects Manhattan to Fort Lee. |
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| To the Stone Kids of Maryland, running is a form of play and we adult Pinoy Runners can learn a thing or 2 from Camilla and Connor about finding joy in the simplicity of running. |
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| One of PRG's moderator, Kate doing her FAIR7420 in in the shadow of St. Paul Cathedral in Minneapolis |
Running 7kms, by itself, is rarely a momentous occasion. But the distance is sufficient enough to afford someone like me to have a time of reflection, like meditating upon the mystery of the foreign policy of our current administration where the first utterances in office by the former mayor, was to declare his country's separation from America. Imagine that, dropping the USA in favor of China which is a rival-claimant to resource-rich territory in the West Phil Sea. Is this the will of the Filipino people? The humble opinion I have is this is not. Despite the man in the palace evidently favoring Beijing over Washington DC, evidence on the ground points to the fact that the special relationship between the Filipino people and the American people remain strong and enduring. Consider these numbers:
1. Defying the president's preferences, Filipinos' trust in China sank lower to "bad", at -33, while it remained "excellent" for the United States, at +72, in a 2019 3rd Quarter polling survey by polling firm Social Weather Stations (SWS).
2. US still the No. 1 remittance source for the Philippines. OFW remittances from the US were at US$ 9.9 Billion and US$ 11.3 Billion in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Contrast the billions with China's US$ 48.2 Million and US$ 33.4 Million in the same 2-year period.
3. An estimated 4% of nurses in the US are Filipino, but in some states they account for a much larger share of caregivers. In California, for example, nearly 20% of registered nurses are Filipinos. And because they are most likely to work in acute care, medical/surgical, and ICU nursing, many "FilAms" are on the front lines of care for Covid19 patients.
4. According to the US Embassy in the Philippines in May 2020, assistance from the US government to the Philippines to combat the Covid19 is at US$ 15.2 Million. The US continues to be steady in its assistance to the Philippines despite the fact that the US is one of the countries with the most number of positive covid19 cases. Contrast such steady assistance with the one coming from the origin of the virus - China's "assistance" has been bannered by a music video that has gone awry.
And equally significant with the numbers is the hope and faith in democratic ideals that the US inspires to the world, including here in the Philippines. In a Manila Times opinion piece in the not so distant past, it was stated that:
"Most US government official and workers, justices and judges, lawmakers in the federal and state congresses and assemblies, most American educators and schoolteachers still believe in the highest principles of good government and human liberties."
Belief and respect in good governance and human liberties. This is cherished by democracies all over the world, including the Philippines and the US. Our family experienced this first-hand just most recently when in the 2nd quarter of 2019, resolutions were filed in the US Congress, one in the House ( H.Res. 233 ) and another one in the Senate (S.Res 142) condemning the continued detention of our loved one. In January of this year the bi-partisan Senate resolution was actually passed/agreed by voice vote.
With almost an hour that has elapsed, I was concluding on my reflections and just about finished with my 7km run of the FAIR7420.
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| Time of 58:19:09 for my 7kms |
In closing, allow me to quote the first sentence of the Gettysburg Address, the most famous speech ever given by President Abraham Lincoln:
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal."
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| Inside the Lincoln Memorial |
These words I first heard from my lolo at dinnertime in our family residence back in my youth. I saw the words inscribed on the South Wall of the Lincoln Memorial during my visit to Washington DC last year. This year, on this 4th of July, I am again reminded of the message of equality in the way the good people of Pinoy Runners Global organizes its running events like the Global Running Day, Freedom Day Run and now this Fil-Am Independence Run. There is that feel of inclusivity and solidarity being nurtured as the PRG community expands its network of barangays not only in the Philippines and America but also to where the Filipinos can be found, admirably contributing to society and vigorously running their hearts out in all parts of the globe..
Good job to all Pinoy Runners and much respect to the leaders of Pinoy Runners Global and its barangays (44 and counting) .
Happy Independence Day to all the citizens of the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.
Happy Fil-Am Friendship Day to all the citizens of our beloved Lupang Hinirang.
Happy 4th of July.
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